Aincrad 1

  “Damn…”

  I gritted my teeth. Asuna and I were trying to hold down the right scythe, Heathcliff the left, but we couldn’t last much longer.

  “Kirito!”

  I turned to look at Asuna.

  —Don’t look away! Distractions will only get you killed!

  —You’re right…here it comes!

  —Block it on the upper left!

  We shared information with just an exchange of glances, then blocked the scythe in perfect rhythm.

  We forced ourselves to ignore the occasional screams from players around us, focusing solely on blocking the creature’s deadly blows. Somehow, as it went on, not only did we stop needing to share words, but looks as well. It was as though we were plugged directly into each other’s minds. We instantly used the exact same moves to block the enemy’s breathless attacks.

  In the moment, locked in the midst of the most extreme of battles, I felt a sense of unity I’d never known before. Asuna and I had melded into a single, sword-swinging force of combat—in a way, it was an incredibly sensual experience. The occasional heavy attack from the monster knocked off slight amounts of our HP bit by bit, but it was completely out of mind.

  22

  The fight lasted for an entire hour.

  At the end of that limitless stretch, when the monster finally split into pieces, no one left had enough strength to muster a cheer. We all sat or fell to the obsidian floor, panting heavily.

  —Is it…over?

  —Yeah, it’s over.

  With that final exchange, it seemed the connection between Asuna and me was broken. A powerful fatigue enveloped my entire body, and I sank to my knees. We sat back-to-back, unable to move.

  We had both survived, though these were not circumstances for open celebration. A dear price had been paid this day. Starting with the three deaths on that first blow, our forces had suffered steady losses, the horrible shattering sounds popping off left and right. I’d counted six before I gave up.

  “How many did we lose?” Klein asked in a hoarse voice, slumped over to my left. Next to him, Agil lay flat on his back, his limbs spread apart. He could only turn his head to look at us.

  I waved my right hand to bring up my map, counting the green dots. I subtracted the total from our original number.

  “Fourteen are dead.”

  Even as I totaled the number, I couldn’t believe it.

  These were all experienced, top-level players. Even without an escape route or instantaneous healing, careful combat that prioritized survival should have kept the number of fatalities lower. And yet…

  “You can’t be serious…”

  There was none of the usual edge to Agil’s voice. A dark pall hung heavily over the survivors.

  We were at the three-quarters mark—there were a full twenty-five floors ahead of us. Even with several thousand players remaining, there were only a few hundred capable of truly tackling the endgame. If we lost this number on every floor from now on, there might only be one player left to fight the final boss.

  And if it’s going to be anyone, it’ll be him…

  I turned to look to the back of the chamber. While everyone else slumped on the ground, one man clad in red stood straight and tall: Heathcliff.

  He wasn’t totally unharmed, of course. I focused on him to bring up his cursor, which showed that his HP bar was significantly lowered. It’d taken everything Asuna and I had to continue blocking one of those giant scythes, and he’d managed the other all on his own. Numerical damage aside, the mental fatigue alone should have been enough to knock him down.

  But his proud, calm bearing showed not the slightest hint of exhaustion. He was unbelievably tough. Like a machine—a battle machine with a perpetual engine…

  I continued gazing blearily at Heathcliff’s profile, my mind hazy with fatigue. The living legend’s face stayed calm. He silently stared down at the KoB members and others who lay on the floor. His gaze was full of warmth and compassion…just like…

  Just like he was watching little mice, playing in a cleverly constructed cage.

  I felt a tremendous chill race through my entire body.

  My mind raised into motion. Everything froze, from my fingertips to the center of my brain. A premonition had awoken inside of me. The tiny seed of possibility grew and grew, sending out roots of doubt.

  Heathcliff’s gaze, his implacability—it was not the face of a man congratulating his fellows. It was the expression of a merciful God, gazing down from a great height…

  I suddenly remembered the incredible reaction time he’d exhibited during our duel. It surpassed the speed of humanity. No, let me rephrase—it surpassed the maximum speed SAO allowed its players to move.

  Not to mention his regular attitude. He was the leader of the strongest guild in the game, but he never gave orders. He let other players handle all matters and chose to observe. What if that wasn’t a sign of trust in his subordinates…but the self-control not to act on things that other players could not know?

  Someone unbound by the rules of this game of death, but not an NPC. No program could create that merciful expression.

  If he wasn’t an NPC or an ordinary player, that left only one possibility. But how could I confirm it? There was no way.

  Except there was. One available right now, and only now.

  I checked Heathcliff’s HP. It was quite diminished after the excruciating battle, but still not to the halfway point. In fact, it was just barely still in the blue.

  This was a man who had never once fallen into the yellow zone. He possessed an insurmountable defense.

  The only time I’d seen Heathcliff’s expression change during our duel was when I was about to knock his HP under 50 percent. But it wasn’t being knocked into the yellow zone that he was afraid of.

  No, it was more likely…

  I slowly gripped my right sword. Gradually, ever so gradually, I drew my right foot back. I lowered my waist, assuming the position for a low-altitude dash. Heathcliff hadn’t noticed me. His calm gaze was trained only on his battered guildmates.

  If my guess was completely wrong, I would instantly be labeled a criminal player and suffer extreme punishment.

  Sorry if it comes to that…

  I looked at Asuna, crouched next to me. She looked up at the same time and our eyes met.

  “Kirito…?”

  She looked startled, but she only mouthed the words. It was too late—my right leg was already pouncing.

  I crossed the thirty feet to Heathcliff in an instant, low to the ground, then burst upward, twisting my right thrust: Rage Spike, a basic one-handed charge attack. It was weak, and wouldn’t come close to killing Heathcliff if it hit, but it would serve to prove my suspicions…

  Heathcliff didn’t fail to notice the sweep of pale blue that approached from his left, and I saw his eyes widen with shock. He abruptly raised his left hand, trying to block with his shield.

  But I’d seen that habit several times during our duel. My blazing sword angled sharply in midair, clipping the hilt of the shield and striking—

  —An invisible wall, just before it hit Heathcliff’s chest. I felt a powerful impact travel up my arm. Purple sparks shot everywhere, and the space between was similarly purple—the color of all system messages.

  IMMORTAL OBJECT. A system designation that was not afforded to human players, frail and limited that we were. This is what Heathcliff was afraid of during our duel—the possibility that his so-called divine protection would be exposed for what it really was.

  “Kirito, what in the—?”

  Asuna started to shout in surprise as she chased after me, then stopped short when she saw the message. Heathcliff, Klein, the other players—no one moved. The system message blinked out in the silence.

  I removed my sword and leaped backward to maintain distance. Asuna took several steps to reach my side.

  “He’s designated as a system-level immortal object? Wh…what does this mean, Commander?”
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  Heathcliff did not answer her confused query. He simply looked at me, a severe frown on his face. I spoke, my swords lowered.

  “This is the truth behind the legend. The system is designed to prevent his HP from ever falling into the yellow zone. The only things that can be labeled immortal objects are the environment, NPCs, and system managers, not players. But there aren’t any more GMs in the game—except for one.”

  I cut off and glanced upward.

  “There’s something that has stuck in the back of my mind ever since I came here. I figured he had to be watching us from somewhere, managing and fine-tuning the world. But I forgot a basic psychological fact, something that even a kid knows.”

  I trained my gaze directly on the crimson paladin.

  “There’s nothing more boring than watching someone else play an RPG. Isn’t that right, Akihiko Kayaba?”

  The entire chamber was full of frosty silence.

  Heathcliff just looked at me, his face still placid. No one else moved. They couldn’t.

  Next to me, Asuna took a step forward. Her eyes were devoid of emotion, like two empty voids. When she spoke, it was in a dry whisper.

  “Commander…is this…true…?”

  Heathcliff did not answer. He tilted his head and finally spoke.

  “…Will you at least tell me how you figured it out?”

  “I first noticed something was off during our duel. You moved too fast in that final moment.”

  “I should have known. That was a painful failure for me. I was so overwhelmed by your attack, I had no choice but to use the system’s assistance.”

  He nodded slowly, finally showing his first sign of emotion—a twisted corner of the mouth, the faintest hint of a wry grimace.

  “My plan was to not reveal myself until the ninety-fifth floor had been reached. But alas…”

  Heathcliff turned to gaze over the group, his grin looking more and more aloof, then he finally announced himself.

  “Yes, I am Akihiko Kayaba. And I am this game’s final boss, the one who should have awaited you on the top floor.”

  I felt Asuna swoon slightly. I propped her up with my right hand, my stare never leaving him.

  “I don’t think much of your taste. The greatest player in the game turns heel and becomes the final boss?”

  “But it’s a compelling scenario, is it not? We had fun, but I wasn’t expecting to be exposed just three-quarters of the way through. I had you pegged as the biggest wild-card element in the game, but even my estimates were off.”

  Akihiko Kayaba, the developer of the game and jailer of all ten thousand prisoners, gave off his recognizable dry smile and shrugged. Heathcliff’s physical appearance was a far cry from the real Kayaba. But that mechanical nature, his metallic disposition, was the same as that of the faceless avatar that had descended from the ceiling on that fateful day. Kayaba continued, the smile still playing over his lips.

  “I’d always expected that you would be the one to confront me in the end. Out of the ten unique skills in the game, Dual Blades is the one given to the player with the quickest response time. That player should have been the one to stand before the final villain, whether triumphant or beaten. But you exhibited power beyond my expectations. Both in the speed of your attacks and the sharpness of your observation. But…I suppose having one’s expectations betrayed is one of the best features of an online RPG.”

  One of the frozen players had finally risen to his feet. It was one of the Knights of the Blood. His naive, narrow eyes were filled with anguish.

  “You…you bastard…We actually swore our loyalty to you…We put our hopes in you! And you betrayed us…”

  He lifted a large halberd.

  “You evil, twisted—!!”

  And the man screamed and charged. There was no time to stop him. He took a huge swing at Kayaba—

  But Kayaba was faster. He swung his left hand instead, opening a window and manipulating it instantly. Suddenly, his attacker’s body froze in midair, then fell with a clatter. A blinking green border surrounded the man’s HP bar—paralysis. Kayaba kept tapping commands into the window.

  “Oh…Kirito!”

  I turned to see Asuna kneeling on the ground. From what I could see, everyone in the chamber aside from Kayaba and me was collapsing unnaturally, groaning.

  I put my swords over my back, kneeling to lift Asuna up and hold her hand. Kayaba turned to look at me again.

  “What are you doing? Killing everyone here to cover up your evil deeds?”

  “Hardly. I would not be so cruel,” he said, smiling and shaking his head. “But I am left with no other choice. I must accelerate my plans and await your visit at Ruby Palace on the top floor. I have been building the KoB to handle the powerful foes of the ninetieth floor and above. It is not my first choice to abandon you partway like this, but I think you’ve shown that you have the strength to make it on your own. However, before then…”

  He stopped and trained his gaze on me, twin beams of pure willpower. He stuck the tip of his sword into the obsidian floor. A sharp, clear, metallic tone rent the air.

  “I believe you deserve a reward for exposing my true identity, Kirito. I will grant you the opportunity to fight me in a one-on-one duel, right here and now. No immortality, of course. If you beat me, the game will be over, and all players will be able to log out of this world. What do you choose?”

  The instant she heard those words, Asuna struggled futilely in my arms, shaking her head. “You can’t, Kirito! He’s trying to get rid of you…We should pull back and think this through…”

  My conscience agreed with her. He was a game manager, able to bend the system to his will. He might claim a fair battle, but there was no telling what he might do. The best choice here was clearly to retreat, share opinions, and come up with a plan.

  But…

  What did he say? He built the KoB? We could make it on our own…?

  “You sick bastard,” I muttered before I knew what I was doing.

  He had kidnapped ten thousand people, fried the brains of two-fifths of them, and watched in person as we struggled, ignorant and helpless, to play along with his own pet narrative. There could be no greater enjoyment for a game master.

  I thought back to Asuna’s past as described down on the twenty-second floor. I remembered her tears as she clung to me. How could I stand before the man who created this world for his own pleasure, who had ripped Asuna’s heart to shreds over and over, and simply back down?

  “All right. Let’s settle this.”

  I nodded slowly.

  “Kirito!” Asuna screamed. I looked down at her. It felt like I’d been shot through the chest to do this, but I forced a smile all the same.

  “I’m sorry. But this has to be it. There’s no turning back now…”

  Asuna opened her lips, about to say something, then stopped and gave me a desperate smile. Tears trailed down her cheeks.

  “You aren’t going…to die, are you…?”

  “Nope…I’m going to win. I’m going to win, and I’m going to bring an end to this world.”

  “All right. I believe you.”

  Even if I lose and turn to nothingness, you have to live on. I thought the words but couldn’t say them. Instead, Asuna squeezed my hand, long and hard.

  I let go, then laid her body on the obsidian floor. I stood and walked over to Kayaba, loudly drawing my swords.

  “Kirito, don’t do this!”

  “Kirito!”

  I turned and saw Agil and Klein desperately trying to push themselves upward. First I met Agil’s eyes and nodded to him.

  “Thanks for all your support of the swordsmen in the game, Agil. I know what you’ve done. You’ve spent nearly all of your earnings helping to outfit players in the mid-level zones.”

  I smiled at Agil, whose eyes were wide with surprise.

  Klein, ugly bandanna, stubble, and all, was breathing in and out rapidly, trying to find the right words. I stared straight into his
sunken eyes and took a deep breath. Try as I might, I couldn’t stop my voice from trembling.

  “Klein…remember when we first met? I’m sorry for what I did…leaving you behind like that. I always regretted it.”

  That was all I could scratch out, but the instant I finished, the corners of my old friend’s eyes sparkled and began to drip. After several moments of silent tears, he struggled anew to get to his feet, his throat ripping with anger.

  “D…don’t you dare apologize to me! Now is not the time! You’re not going to do this! I’m not gonna forgive you until I’ve at least had the chance to buy you a dinner back in the real world!!”

  He tried to keep shouting, but I silenced him with a nod.

  “All right, it’s a deal. We’ll meet up on the outside.”

  I flashed him a thumbs-up.

  Then I turned to the girl who’d helped me say the words I couldn’t say for two years and gave her one last gaze.

  One last gaze at Asuna, her face smiling but tearstained…

  Inwardly, I told her I was sorry, then spun around. I looked at Kayaba, still imperious and implacable, and opened my mouth.

  “…I have just one request.”

  “And that is?”

  “I don’t intend to go down easily, but if I do die, ensure that Asuna can’t commit suicide right away.”

  He raised an eyebrow in surprise but nodded assent.

  “Very well. I’ll see to it that she cannot leave Selmburg.”

  “Kirito, you can’t! No…you can’t do this!!”

  Asuna’s teary cries echoed behind me. I didn’t turn around. I drew my right foot back, pushing my left sword to the front and my right sword down.

  Kayaba hit a few more commands on his window that equalized our HP bars just at the edge of the red zone—enough that one clean, heavy hit would finish the battle.

  Next, a system message appeared over his head reading, CHANGED INTO MORTAL OBJECT—Kayaba had removed his artificial defense. He closed the window, then pulled his sword out of the ground and hunched behind his giant shield.

  My mind was cold and clear. After my inner apologies to Asuna had risen and dissipated like soap bubbles popping, only my instinct to fight was left, freezing and sharp.